My Ever Growing Family
by exaigon
Summary: Sequel to My Pack! Infra goes to Los Noches with his pack to join Aizen's army. What kind of mischief can he cause there? Updates will be sporadic...
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

Wow! I got so many requests to continue this story. So here it is! Oh and it was brought to my attention that Coyote is Starrk's first name… At first I was going to change his name so it was switched but I decided to leave his name alone. Infra will just call him Starrk anyway. I call my friend by her last name because it sounds cool so why can't he. WARNING: I do intend to mess with the timeline during some of this story. If you like exactly canon… well that just sucks for you and you shouldn't be reading fanfiction.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Bleach. They belong to J.K. Rowling and Tite Kubo respectively. If I owned them I would be making money right now and seeing as I'm not well…

I also fixed some things in this chapter and will be completely overhauling the second one.

_Fight_

Starrk was the Alpha and Infra his mate and Lilinette was the Beta. That was how it was for years. They were all content.

Until a shinigami decided to butt in…

Infra's head shot up. There was an invader in their territory! And he was strong, really strong. Infra whimpered and tried to move as close as possible to Starrk. Sensing the disturbance in his mate, Starrk opened his eyes sleepily and glared at the figure standing at the top of one of the sand dunes. He was bugging his mate, and Coyote Starrk did not like it one bit.

"Are you Coyote Starrk?"

"Who wants to know?"

"My name is Sosuke Aizen-"

Infra's head popped over his mate's chest and asked curiously, "The shinigami who beat the King and is building his own empire?" Starrk looked at him questioningly. Infra smiled sheepishly, "I got around a lot. It's why you found me running away that day… I usually piss people off or endear them to me. It's very rare that there's someone in between."

"Ah… And may I ask your name Vasto Lorde?"

Infra meeped at the shinigami's voice. There was a dangerous undertone to the politeness. Infra knew it was probably because he had cut the man off. He didn't seem to be the type to like that.

"Ahahaha… My name i-is Infra Viento…"

"Wind… but what does Infra mean? I do not recognize the language."

_'This situation seems familiar…'_ "One of the meanings is of the underworld."

Starrk, not liking Aizen's new interest in Infra decided to butt into the conversation, "You were here to recruit me then, yes?" Aizen nodded his head in agreement. Starrk hesitated for a moment before replying, "I will only go if Infra and Lilinette comes with me."

"Of course. I would not have it any other way."

Starrk turned to his shorter companion. "Fetch Lilinette from the piles would you and carry her up as well."

Infra knew the meaning behind that. He wanted both of them up in the air and away from the new and very dangerous shinigami. Starrk was very fast and could probably get away if something went wrong but Lilinette and Infra would only cause problems. In the air they were safe. (Unless Aizen was a wind user who could wind walk… but what was the possibilities of that? With his infamous luck he knew he had probably jinxed but Infra wasn't going to get overly worried. That only seemed to make things worse in the long run.)

"Lilinette! Come on! Starrk says I'm taking you up as we follow that shinigami."

"Hmph! I don't know we should follow that stupid man! Stupid Starrk…" The green haired child was still complaining as she came down from the top of a carcass pile and hopped onto her pack mates back. "Well what are we waiting for? Let's get up there already!"

Infra sighed. Lilinette was such a handful sometimes. But he did as ordered and leaped into the air as high as he could. For a moment they were suspended before the two started falling towards the sand as gravity pulled them down. A smirk formed on the dog Vasto Lorde's face as he activated his powers and the wind gathered under his feet. Stopping mid fall, he watched as Aizen's head snapped in their direction and he could see the smirk on his hollow's face. The shinigami stared for a moment before saying something to Starrk and taking off. The wolf followed behind and with his alpha's signal, so did Infra.

"That is a very… unique power your friend holds," Aizen said while running slightly ahead of his new recruit to show him the way to Los Noches.

He wasn't lying either. He had never seen an elemental hollow before. They were supposedly rarer than Vasto Lorde and that was saying something. There were some hollows that could imitate an elemental's powers but did not have complete control of an element that an elemental did. It was also said that elemental usually didn't last long enough to become Vasto Lorde because many hollows wanted to consume them to get a modicum of their power or they were consumed by the element they were supposed to control.

Starrk gave him a sour look but did not comment. Aizen chuckled in response but let the subject drop.

Infra could only gape at the castle that stood in front of him. If the fake sunlight had surprised him then seeing Los Noches made him almost fall from the sky. Only Lilinette's smack to the back of his head pulled him from his shock and put him back on track. He stayed in the air and waited for Starrk's signal and once he got it he slowly descended to the ground and let Lilinette off.

"Welcome to Los Noches."

Infra tilted his head and asked, "So I know your gathering a hollow army but what exactly are you offering? Not every hollow wants the same thing…"

Aizen sent an amused look towards the dog hollow which sent Infra hiding behind his mate again. With his hair slicked back and narrowed eyes, Infra thought Aizen looked sort of scary. And that was saying something compared to all the hollows he had seen.

"Ah, but they do all want the same thing. They want power. And power I can give them after I've gained something from the Soul Society. After that… more hollows will come than the ones gathering now."

"Oh yeah… I sort of forgot about that power hungry trait… whoops!"

"Forgot! How could you forget the most common trait amongst hollows you idiot!"

"Wha- Lili! Stop! OW! Lili WAIT! Ouch!"

Starrk and Aizen watched on in amusement as Infra was pounded into the sand. Finally Starrk took pity on his mate and grabbed the back of Lilinette's rags to drag her kicking and screaming off of the sulking hollow. As the other half of the wolf continued to struggle, Starrk let a low growl rumble past his lips and the smaller one froze. Infra looked up at the authoritative tone in his wolf's voice and gave him a grateful glance as he pulled himself out of a nice sized hole.

Aizen watched the interactions between the three hollows he had just picked up with cold calculation. If what he was seeing was correct they had emotions. Now from Starrk and Lilinette he could expect that as they were already arrancar and had a shinigami half but from the Vasto Lorde; now that was a surprise. It was extremely rare (possibly more so than finding an elemental) to find a hollow that followed positive emotions. Sure there were ones that formed packs but that was because of instinct. This pack seemed bonded on a more emotional level than was normal in Hueco Mundo.

"So how long until you get that item from Soul Society?"

Aizen glanced over at Starrk with a small smirk. "Time flows the fastest in Hueco Mundo than it does on any of the three planes. If I were to guess a time here then I would say close to… five years."

"That's quite a long time," Starrk yawned.

"Quite."

Infra was a bit dismayed. He knew their pack wouldn't ever have the peace and quiet they used to have back in their old place. Of course Starrk's spiritual pressure was still crushing and that was probably why he hadn't seen any hollows around but he was quite sure the palace was crawling with them.

Aizen had probably noticed the same thing as we had stopped in front of a special room. "This room will belong to you and your pack until further notice. I have a few of them built to contain spiritual pressure for such a time that I ever came across a hollow like you."

Starrk opened the door out of curiosity and noticed the bed immediately. The alpha didn't say anything, just walked over to the bed, fell on it, and slipped into sleep's embrace. Infra felt like doing an anime fall but he held himself upright. Of course Lilinette started a ranting tirade about lazy ass dog's and proceeded to try to drag the man out of bed to get the rest of the tour. Infra just turned back to the shinigami and stated sheepishly that they liked it and appreciated it very much.

Aizen had that creepy amused look on his face before he nodded and left. Infra immediately shut the door and shuddered. That guy gave him the creeps… Deciding to ignore it he walked past the ranting child and slipped into bed next to his alpha. An arm was around his waist in a second and Infra only snuggled deeper into Stark' embrace.

Lilinette watched the pair sleep on the bed and decided that, even though she was not a fan of laziness, it was a good time to rest. They had come a long way to get to the palace (even though Infra had carried her the whole time). She slipped into the king sized bed and curled up into Infra's stomach.

A knock at the door had Infra sleepily sitting up in the bed. Starrk tried to pull him back down but he pushed Lilinette into his embrace and slipped out of the bed. The dog hollow tried to think of who it could be as he padded over to the door. He put his hand on the door knob and hesitated. Sighing, Infra pushed some of the spiky hair out of his mask's eyeholes and cautiously pulled open the door.

He was not expecting to come face to stomach with a green centaur.

"Oh my. That is quite the amount of spiritual pressure."

Infra blinked a moment before noticing that the horse legs were trembling ever so slightly and he pushed past the lady (he was sure it was a lady because of the curves but he wasn't certain he wanted to look up until he was a bit farther away) and closed the door. Getting the hint, she backed up some and Infra was able to make out wild green hair behind her beautiful mask. A mask which was now looking down on him.

"Uh…. Is there a reason why you came to visit?"

"Hey! Don't be rude to Neliel-sama!"

Infra blinked and looked around the centaur hollow to find a giant tiki mask and a human shaped hollow with an ant mask looking back at him.

"Uh…"

"Don't mind them. They follow me and are a bit overprotective when they do not have to be." A chiding look was sent their way and they seemed to back down. "This is Dondochakka," the one with the giant tiki mask, "and Pesche," the ant one. "I am Neliel tu Oderschvank. I wanted to introduce myself to the newly arrived hollows. I heard two were already arrancar and I thought it would be a neat experience for my friends to meet them," she said gesturing to the two who were still behind her.

"Uh…well. I guess I should introduce myself. My name is Infra Viento. Inside is my alpha, Coyote Starrk, and my beta, Lilinette. I don't know what arrancars are but I'm guessing they are what you're talking about."

"It is nice to make your acquaintance Infra Viento."

"Ahah… yeah. I would bring them out to meet you but Starrk isn't really good at controlling his spiritual pressure. He's never had a need to. That and he's really, really lazy."

He heard the door behind him open and grinned as Starrk's reiatsu washed over him.

"That was mean puppy."

"Did you just call me puppy?" Infra turned in disbelief to his alpha.

"I did. What are you going to do about it…puppy?"

Infra's eye twitched and, completely forgetting about their guests, launched himself at his mate. Starrk sent a lazy smile and a wave to the people outside his door before grasping Infra's head in a headlock and pulling him inside before closing the door with his foot.

Nel stared at the door with amusement. Her friends of course were throwing a fit over how rude that was (even if they were doing it from the floor) but she couldn't help but think it was cute. Infra seemed like a unique type of hollow. Nel could, of course, tell that he was suppressing most of his reiatsu. At first she had thought it was out of habit but when the boy had said that his alpha (he had actually called another hollow his alpha… she would never understand the interactions between canines) didn't control his reiatsu. So that meant he probably didn't either. So the Vasto Lorde had held back his reiatsu in consideration of the two still yelling and pulling themselves off the ground from Starrk's (at least she assumed that was Starrk) spiritual pressure.

Infra sighed. He had finally dropped Lilinette off in their rooms after being dragged around to explore Los Noches for weeks. They had looked at all the different towers which he had found out were supposed to be for some hollows that got turned into the espada, the top ten strongest arrancars. And he had found out that an arrancar was the next step of evolution from Vasto Lorde. You could do it by naturally pulling off your mask (ouch!) or waiting for Aizen –san (he refused to call anyone sama. He did not bow down to overlords, especially after Voldemort…) to bring back whatever he was aiming to get. They had said hi to Neliel and her group of two followers. Then they went to explore the kitchen which was built mostly for Aizen's use because shinigami still ate but it was also going to be open to the arrancar as well.

Now, though, he had time to go explore on his own without the little energy ball. He sighed again and set off down the white hallway which looked like all the other hallways in Los Noches. Really! Aizen seemed to have a thing for white! Even the new outfits they had been given to wear were white (and were also the opposite of the shinigami colors he'd noticed).

Infra wasn't stupid or naïve as some of the hollows around here seemed to think. He was very aware of his surroundings. 'CONSTANT VIGILANCE!' as an old teacher once said. That held especially true in the afterlife. He had noticed Aizen keeping a close eye on him for the few weeks that they had been there. The man had way too much interest in him for Infra to feel safe. The feeling only went away when he was with Starrk but he was exploring now (trying not to get lost) so he pulled himself out of his thoughts.

Just in time too because he almost bumped into a giant snake-like worm with pink dangly things that made his extra appendages look like wings.

"Uh…" Infra looked up into the masked face that only seemed to have a mouth.

"Will you be my experiment?"

Well that wasn't creepy at all…

"Well. Ehehehe it depends on the experiment ya know?" Infra said nervously. He glanced around looking for a way out but there was only the long hallway. Well, it _was_ only an adjuchas, he could fight…

"I only wish to copy the shinigami's work with gigais."

"Uh… Gigai?" Sure he knew a hell of a lot about Hueco Mundo (apparently not everything as he hadn't known about arrancar…) but he knew next to nothing about shinigami, only that they carried blades called Zanpaktou that gave them powers to fight.

"It allows us… to go into the living world in a corporeal body…"

Infra was really creeped out now. This adjuchas was just too weird, even the way he talked was freaky. Infra shivered.

"Will you?"

"Uh…"

He hadn't really given an answer but apparently the pink thing took it as a yes anyway.

"A strong Vasto Lorde would be just what I need! If I can get the body to hold much reiatsu then I can definitely tone it down to receive less." A creepy giggle escaped his mouth.

"Wait! I don't even know who you are," Infra squeaked as he tried to pull his arm from the unnaturally tight grip. Infra really didn't like fighting… Where was Starrk when you needed him to ward off creepy hollows out to experiment on you!

"Ah! That's right. Szayel Aporro Granz at your service. Now to get you into the gigai I first need to recreate it in your image…"

Infra tuned the man out as he was dragged down the hallway. If he had to he could just summon the wind to protect him. Physical fighting just didn't appeal to him…

**AN:** I know Harry/Infra seems kind of childish, but he sort of is one. In hollows years he's pretty young and while he was alive he never really got a childhood. Canines are also really playful animals (especially huskies, which Infra is… .) so his hollow instincts and therefore his personality reflects that.

So How did you all like it? You want the next chapter? Huh? Huh? Do ya? Then please review! It motivates me and sometimes inspires my actions. Although I think this is the only one of my stories that I have an actual plot for. Usually I just write as it comes… Ah well!


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Thank you for the review~!

CrystalBlues: Yes Infra's magic is gone. It basically turned into reiatsu so he has really high levels. Yes. It will be mainly focused on the bleach world but there will be some cameos from people and objects from the Wizarding world.

This chapter was completely redone so some information may be majorly changed…

* * *

_Fight_

"Ah! That's right. Szayel Aporro Granz at your service. Now to get you into the gigai I first need to recreate it in your image…"

Infra tuned the man out as he was dragged down the hallway. If he had to he could just summon the wind to protect him. Physical fighting just didn't appeal to him…

* * *

"This feels really weird… Like I'm being held in a small box that's just too small to hold me."

"I see. I see," Szayel said as he somehow wrote down notes. Infra really had no idea how the worm hollow did it without hands. Every time he would look away for a second and then he turns back and the notes were already written down. He decided he really didn't want to know and ignored the occurrence.

"In the labs again puppy?"

Infra turned to Starrk who was leaning against the door. The dog hollow went to spring into his alphas arms but he only made it half way across the room before he hit the floor. Szayel watched on and turned back to his notes mumbling to himself about motor skills and strength of limbs.

Infra pulled himself off the floor and rubbed his now bleeding forehead. Of course the blood surprised him and a yelp erupted from his throat causing Starrk to run over and check what was wrong. When he saw the red liquid running down his mate's forehead he blinked in surprise before turning a questioning gaze to the adjuchas.

Szayel sniffed lightly and explained, "When inside the gigai it restricts the use of the reiatsu because even if we are in giagai the shinigami will still be able to tell what we are. These gigai are made to hide the reiatsu signature and so restricts our use of it. The most you'd be able to get from it is creating a very thin hierro layer and even that might be detectable at close range."

"S-so in the gigai I'm as vulnerable as human!?"

"Yes. That's about right."

Starrk frowned. He didn't like the thought of Infra being vulnerable like that.

"Well… I guess if you were invincible as a human it would raise questions… So I can go to the human world now right Starrk?" Seeing the unsure look on the bearded face Infra turned on his puppy dog eyes #2. His hollow eyes got wide and sparkly and somehow his mask snakelike eyehole got larger and seemed more innocent. "Please! I just have to get used to having a bit slower reactions."

"Infra there are still some kinks I need to work out of the gigai. Most important is the features. They are still very animalistic and the eyes are still that of a hollow."

"Ah man! Szayel we've been working on this gigai for two months already! Can't you just change the features yourself?"

"Yes but-"

"Oh! Please! I really want to go into the human world. Just make my giagai the special one- a prototype or whatever- and fix all the other ones! Please!"

Szayel's eye twitched but he sighed and gave in. Infra _was _the only hollow that had put up with his ministrations and experimentations. "Fine."

Starrk huffed from his position still holding his mate in his arms. He hoped Szayel would have withstood the obvious puppy dog eyes but it was futile. So in an attempt to avoid giving an actual answer he said, "I believe it should be up to Aizen-san whether you will go to human world, especially in a prototype gigai."

"What? But Starrk," Infra whined. "We don't know when Aizen is coming back! That's not fair."

"Well, that's my decision puppy. Deal with it," he growled.

Infra whined at the authoritative tone but gave in and nodded. Szayel turned back to the two still standing in the middle of his lab room.

"Well, I need to make the adjustments while we're waiting for Aizen-sama. What colors do you want?"

"Um… Green eyes, like emerald green, and uh black hair. That's it I think… Oh! And a lightning scar on the right side of my forehead."

"Right well…" Szayel slithered over with his expelling instrument that was shaped like a cane from the human world with a fire symbol at the end hanging from his tail. He put it against the gigais forehead and pushed Infra out.

"Come back later and I will have the features finished and will have hopefully worked out most of the other bugs in the system."

"Hey Szayel… I know I've asked before but you never answered. Where did you get the information on gigais from?"

A creepy chuckle tore its way from Szayel's throat and he answered, "Let's just say a blonde shinigami found some rooms of his a bit trashed with some documents missing…"

"I see."

Infra relaxed under the sun while lying on top of Starrk outside of Los Noches. Lilinette was inside causing problems with Pesche and Dondochakka as she questioned Neliel on everything female she could think of. It was a wonderful time to relax and sleep and the fake sun even gave off warmth. It was hard to find time to relax with his pack even in the four months that they had been there. Someone was always asking something of Infra, whether it be experiments (Szayel), dressing him up (he always ran to Starrk when that happened), and even just eating together to chat (usually Neliel).

He had also met more hollows that had gathered. Barragan, the former king that Aizen had defeated seemed to hate Starrk and want Infra as a fraccion, whatever the hell that was. Though he kept refusing and it seemed to be pissing the skeleton king off majorly. He had also met a bat Vasto Lorde named Ulquiorra Schiffer who was horribly apathetic to everything. It actually bugged Infra but he wasn't really one to butt into others' business if they weren't his friend. Then he had met a mantis hollow that seemed to look down on him because of his position in his relationship. That didn't go over very well with Starrk and Noitra, the mantis, learned very quickly not to insult Infra in the alpha's presence. (Though he still did it when he was alone…)

Szayel had actually finished working out all the kinks in the gigai and it looked eerily like his old living body. When he actually entered the fake body it did look like an exact replica as it formed more to his features. Starrk thought he looked absolutely delicious and had wanted to devour him (not as literal food .) right then and there. The only thing that stopped him was Szayel's fit over ruining his precious equipment. The scientist could get scary strong when he thought something would mess with his lab data or equipment.

His evening was completely ruined when he felt the approach of Aizen's reiatsu followed by two other Shinigami. Starrk, who was surprisingly awake at the moment, frowned when he also felt it. The energies didn't go anywhere near the pair but it left Infra with an insatiable curiosity. Who were the new people?

* * *

"You requested to see me, Aizen-san?"

Infra stared nervously at the man in front of him; Aizen had not only requested to meet him in the throne room, he had made it clear he was to come alone. The dog hollow noticed the presences of the other two in the room and caught a brief flash of silver and black but he was too focused on the bigger threat to really care for them at the moment.

"Ah, yes. I've heard about Szayel's accomplishment with the gigai and your request to visit the living world. I will grant this request but in return I would like for you to do a favor for me," he said as he propped his chin on his palm.

The silverette snickered, gaining a frown from Infra but he nodded his head politely.

"I would like for you to attend school there. You see I had an old friend in the Seireitei who now lives in the living world. He has three children, the eldest is of note. I would be pleased if you would keep an eye on him, and the rest of his family. His name is Ichigo Kurosaki."

Infra blinked. That shouldn't be so hard… "Of course, Aizen-san."

"Good. Though I will warn you to be wary of Kisuke Urahara. He is the owner of Urahara Shoten and a former captain of the Thirteen Court Guards. He is also the original creator of gigais"

Of course… there was always a catch.

"For this you will be allowed one to two days back here. Any questions?"

"Ah. Wont I be missed in school if I skip one to two days?"

Aizen blinked and another creepy smile formed on his face. He motioned to the black shinigami who stepped forward to speak.

"The three planes of existence follow a different time flow. Compared to the living plane, Hueco Mundo is three times faster and the Soul Society is two times slower."

The man stepped back and Infra noticed that he was blind. He refrained from saying anything and simply nodded once in affirmation that he understood.

* * *

"Woah! This is totally awesome!"

Infra examined the body that now covered his spiritual form with awe. With Aizen's permission they had taken the experiment to the human world. The shinigami was currently using his powers (though he refused to say what they were…) to keep the shinigami from knowing that they were on the plane of the living.

He had tried on the gigai that had looked creepily like his human self (It was creepy...) and it fit like a glove. It was a little uncomfortable but it looked almost exactly as his living body had, just without the scars. Unfortunately he was still short. He was just glad to find that he was in Japan, and in Japan his height was the national average. He didn't have to crane his head up to look at people unless they were abnormally tall (for Japanese height) or a giant monster hollow. Starrk was still ginormous but his alpha didn't count…

* * *

Szayel looked upon his creation with glee. He had finally copied that damned Urahara's gigais and had even made it better. The hollow shuddered at the thought to the work he had put into copying the man's notes. Many, actually all, the hollows that had traveled with him had perished to help him obtain the treasured data. Unfortunately, his group was also his test subjects so he had lost all of his ways to experiment.

Then Aizen-sama had appeared and offered him a lab. An actual lab! Of course he had accepted and now his experiments had come to fruition! Sadly, he didn't think the gigai would work so well for anyone under Vasto Lorde class; they were just too animalistic before then. When Aizen-sama created the arrancars, then he'd be able to put this research to better use but for now it was just gratifying to see his hard work pay off.

* * *

Coyote Starrk stared at the new body of his mate. Infra's spiritual pressure was barely even there; you had to know that it existed to even find it. His puppy actually didn't look that bad but when he glanced into his face, Starrk was done for. He had never, in his life (that he remembered), seen a pair of eyes that were such a vivid shade of green. They sparkled like freshly cut emeralds and he had a hard time restraining himself from devouring boy.

Instead he focused his attention on the rest of his body. He wore no shirt and Starrk was able to see the corded muscle under his mate's lithe from and again he had to restrain himself. Starrk was just very grateful that his puppy was wearing pants…

* * *

Now… now was the time to explore. In life Infra had always wanted to travel to different countries but never had the chance. Now he was in Japan, considered one of the more beautiful and peaceful (except in war) countries. He rubbed his hands in unadulterated glee!

"So the gigai is yours," Szayel started, "as it is only attuned to your spiritual pressure and Aizen-sama has requested it be so. It is only to be used on your long term mission though… If it is damaged please bring it to me immediately so I can complete repairs."

"Of course! Of course! Right now I don't have to be on the mission though and I'm already in this body…"

Starrk immediately caught on and growled a warning but Infra was already running across the soccer field they had been on. The alpha made to follow but paused and eventually sighed. Well a puppy would be a puppy, he would just have to follow along and make sure nothing bad happened.

He had quite some time having Starrk chasing him around Karakura Town (He had found the name on a 'Welcome to' sign). Of course he got a lot of curious, disgusted, and leering stares (The last of which almost threw his alpha into a fit) because he was shirtless, but it wasn't as if he cared. For the first time he was able to feel the wind on his (well not really his but the gigai belonged to him so it really was his… that hurt to think about) skin and the dirt and concrete on his feet.

It was as he was turning a corner and basking in his euphoria that he ran into a human with the most vivid shade of orange hair he had ever seen. Infra was knocked to the floor along with the other boy.

It took them both a moment to scrabble and Infra looked up to see the most funniest sight he had ever witnessed. Starrk was sniffing the boy! What Infra was not expecting was for the boy to actually react. Sure he had high reiatsu but that didn't mean he had to see Starrk.

"Oi! What are you doing!?"

Starrk blinked in surprised but bluntly replied, "Smelling you."

Infra stifled a giggle.

"I can see that! Why!" A dark shade of red was spreading across the boy's face and down his neck. So cute!

"Because he thinks you look adorable!" Infra couldn't help it. He burst out laughing.

* * *

Ichigo's attention turned to the other boy that he had knocked into but forgot about because of the man that was… smelling him. He was laughing his ass off and Ichigo didn't like that it was at his expense. He ignored the near nudeness of the boy (he had seen it in martial arts class, though he had to admit the boy with green eyes was well muscled even if it was more compact than his own). He walked straight up to him and was about to see if he was looking for a fight when a soft pair of lips landed on the tip of his nose.

"Chuu~!"

Ichigo went cross-eyed and the black haired boy pulled away with a giggle. An actual giggle… Then the orangette's eyebrow twitched and went to tackle the other boy. Unfortunately, he slipped past Ichigo causing a harsh landing with his face in the ground.

This time, along with the laughing, there were some soft chuckles. He had forgotten about the older and much taller brunette. "Oi! It's not funny," he yelled pulling himself of the ground.

"Oh, I thought it was hilarious! You just ate dirt."

Ichigo growled and ignored that he actually had just ate dirt (which really didn't taste good) and stomped over to the boy again who was now standing next to the weird ass sniffer. "Are you looking for a fight!?"

"Well not really. I'm just enjoying the town. But I can give you one if you want. It's been a long time since I've sparred with anyone other than Starrk here. I also need to see how well I can fight in this body."

The last part was muttered and Ichigo didn't think he was meant to hear but it only made him confused.

"What?"

"Hm? Oh, heard that did you? You've got good ears! Well I've just recently recovered from a… shocking event and me and Starrk thought it would be fun-," The older man looked at the younger with a raised eyebrow, "…well I thought it would be fun to check out Karakura and I dragged him with me."

"Is that why you aren't wearing a shirt?"

"Huh? Oh! Hahaha! No! I just think clothes are restricting. If I could I'd run around starkers!"

"Starkers?"

"Oh sorry. It's British slang. It means naked."

Ichigo had kind of guessed that but actually hearing made his previous flush appear with a vengeance. Starrk just had that annoying half amused, half asleep look on his face.

"So you still want that fight?"

* * *

Infra looked at the boy in front of him curiously. He actually wouldn't mind a fight. He was quite sure that the orangette didn't know that Starrk was a spirit and Infra was glad that his mate's bone mask piece was a necklace.

"No… I just… S-sorry about that… I'm usually picked on for my hair color and I thought…"

Ah. Infra could understand that. "No problems! My name is Infra Viento and this is Coyote Starrk but everyone just calls him Starrk!"

"I-I'm Ichigo Kurosaki. Sorry again…"

"As Infra said. It's no problem but we really have to be leaving now. We've been out for quite a while. It was nice making your acquaintance Kurosaki-san."

"Ah! Yours as well Starrk-san, Viento-san."

"Infra, please~!"

"Just Starrk…"

"So that is the boy I'm supposed to watch," the husky hollow whispered with a smile.

* * *

Infra bounced into Los Noches as happy as a puppy. He had a new friend in the living world and Starrk liked him at first glance. He hadn't even minded the kiss! His life was so awesome right now! Nothing could ruin i-

"Watch it you damn little mutt!"

Infra froze and starred at the white panther in front of him. A frown marred his face and he stuck his tongue out. It was a purley childish and Lilinette thing to do but at the moment it didn't matter. Grimmjow Jaegerjaques, the panther he didn't get along with, was blocking the hallway with his group of followers behind him.

"You shouldn't talk that way to your betters, pussy cat! I see you're still an adjuchas."

The cat seemed to freeze and look at Infra again, seemingly taking in his new, more human appearance.

A shocked, " How…" passed the panther's lips before Starrk arrived.

The tension in the hallway immediately put his alpha on alert and he noticed the large cat Infra was having a staring contest with. The wolf sniffed a bit disdainfully before grabbing his puppy by the scruff and dragging him off to their room.

* * *

Grimmjow couldn't help but stare at the retreating backs of the two canine hollows. His followers were asking if he was okay but there was something tugging at his mind so he ignored them. The dog hollow had always been familiar to him, even when they first met, but this new more human-like Vasto Lorde only made that something stronger.

_"You killed my parents."_

It was so familiar! It was pulling at the back of his mind and he tried to tug it forward-

_"We will see each other again. You are - truly your father's son, Ha****..."_

That was all he got before it slipped away. Oh he was going to rip that mutt apart for causing him this confusion, Vasto Lorde or not!

* * *

"Thank you for building this Szayel."

"Of course. It was quite the challenge! First figuring out what would constitute as danger then figuring out how to send the signal through the planes and-"

Infra tuned the hollow out and sighed as Starrk slipped the bracelet on his wrist. It was supposed to monitor his reiatsu and health. If either or both ever got too low it would send a distress signal to the identical one on his alpha's wrist and the other on Lilinette's wrist. Of course it worked the other way as well.

The downside to this was that it took the scientist a whole year to complete… that was four months in the real world. Four months of no gigai and no Ichigo. He could already tell the boy would be easy to tease and rile up… it would be so fun…

Now… Now he could finally go to the World of the Living and maybe make a living. His gigai's age could be adjusted, though the further it got from its natural state the more uncomfortable it got.

"Infra."

He turned to find Nel standing there in all of her arrancar glory with a smile on her face. He had actually grown really fond of her; thought of her almost as a mother. It was the middle of last year when she actually pulled off her mask herself. Luckily, she survived the process and Aizen made her an espada. Number 3, which was really good. Starrk had been made number 1 and Infra became his fraccion. Of course he was powerful enough to be an espada by himself, but he didn't want to be and he was glad when Aizen respected his decision.

"Nel~!" He glomped her.

Neliel was rather use to it and barely moved as she caught the full weight of Starrk's little puppy. It was rather funny that hollows close to Infra had also started to use the nickname. Of course the Vasto Lorde had pouted over it but he finally gave up and accepted the inevitable.

"Have fun okay puppy?"

"Gah! Stop calling me that!"

Nel only chuckled and moved aside to let Starrk sweep him up into a demanding kiss. It lasted for three minutes before a disgusted panther hollow that had been lurking in the corner finally broke it up with loud gagging noises.

"Grimmjow is here to see little ol' me? How sweet~!"

"Stuff it, you little shit!"

Grimmjow had for some inexplicable reason stuck close to Infra. He still insulted him at every turn but there were times when he caught the cat gazing at him in confusion and a little longing. He was pretty sure that it wasn't lust because the crude panther would have outright said something about that. There were also times when he saw the kitty do something so familiar it almost made his (nonexistent apparently) heart ache. He didn't push him away though. If anything Infra indulged in the cat's need to be around him and insulted and teased Grimmjow right back.

"Then why are you here huh? It's not for some more of that cat nip I gave you right?"

Grimmjow let out a yowl and tackled Infra, who had just been put down, leaving a large claw swipe on his left cheek.

Did Infra forget to mention they pranked the hell out of each other too? One day Grimmjow had gone a bit far in his insult and Infra had snuck into the living world with his gigai (which he stole from Szayel's lab where it had been put just to keep him from stealing it. Didn't work very well did it?), found some fleas, and let them lose on the panther. Grimmjow had been stuck with them for a month, with everyone else avoiding him like a plague.

Grimmjow had, in retaliation, gotten a hold of some itching powder and left it in his clothes. That was how the two found out they both loved pranks.

Grimmjow jumped off of Infra and left before Starrk could get his hands on him. Of course if the wolf really wanted to he would have chased after him but this was a common occurrence and Infra had chosen the regeneration power for his Vasto Lorde form so his face was already immaculate.

"I still don't know why you associate with the pussy…" yawned Starrk.

Infra just stuck his tongue out. He turned to the last person in the room and waved goodbye. Ulquiorra, the quiet bat hollow nodded back. They weren't friends per se but Infra got along just fine with Ulquiorra (even if he was a stickler for Aizen's rules). He knew the other hollow was being polite as was proper so he could indulge him.

"Bye~! I'll see you all in three days!"

Harry turned to the open Garganta, sucked in an excited breath, and leapt through.

* * *

**AN:** Okay so this is the next chapter! Can anyone guess who Grimmjow was? I have big plans for him and Ichigo (not pairing wise sorry) *Grins*

Anyway, I'm sorry again for it taking so long to actually do this. Here's an omake to make up for it. I hope you like it.

It was longer than I was expecting... and a lot of you guessed right about Grimmjow. Don't worry, you'll eventually find out more about why he is the way he is.

**Omake**

Grimmjow grinned maliciously. This would teach that bitch of a mutt to give him fleas! Of course, getting the powder was harder because of the shinigami patrolling the living world but having his followers be a distraction worked rather well.

At the moment no one was in the mutt's room but he could still feel the oppressive aura they left around when not controlling their reiatsu. He found the medium sized clothes and poured the powder over all of them equally. He made sure that every single piece of clothing was covered before he closed the drawer he found them in and backtracked to the door. There was nothing he could do about his smell but he kept his reiatsu on a tight lockdown, not letting any seep into the already heavy atmosphere of the room.

The next morning, Grimmjow sauntered down to the 'training fields', only a stretch of sand far away from the castle, where Infra usually was at this time. And there he was!

Silently, the giant panther slinked as close as possible without attracting the attention of the little shit or the green haired monster bitch with him. Infra was shifting in his clothes uncomfortably and Grimmjow grinned again. He turned to head back to the castle and savor his victory but found a very angry wolf blocking his way.

"And just what have you done to my puppy?" There was no tiredness in the espada's voice.

Grimmjow gulped and tried to run but he was no match for the man's speed.

Infra heard the pain filled yowls behind a sand dune and snickered into his before his shifted and scratched his groin… again.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Thank you all for your reviews and your patience with me. Since I'm stuck on Emerald Servant and 1/2 Prince seems to avoid updating I'm going to start with this story again and see how it goes.

Oh yeah...**WARNING** for bad language.

* * *

_Fight_

"Bye~! I'll see you all in three days!"

Harry turned to the open Garganta, sucked in an excited breath, and leapt through.

It had been 17 months in the living world and almost 4 years in Hueco Mundo since he had officially started hi mission for Aizen. The man visited Hueco Mundo at least three times a year but the other two men only came with him about once a year.

Of course being confined in a gigai in the living world shot his training to hell so he rarely got time to snuggle with his pack anymore. There were always those times that Starrk wouldn't let him go back so he would call in sick to the school and stay a couple of days.

His reports to Aizen were always the same. The boy was the same, with out of control reiatsu that attracted hollows and affected his friends to the extent that they were starting to manifest their own spiritual energy. There was never anything new… at least until a soul reaper appeared that saved Ichigo and his family from a hollow and used up all of her energy that way (well he thinks that's what happened to her energy anyway -.-').

Infra still regretted not being there to protect his friend and it was part of his mission as well…

Starrk spent six days trying to comfort him. And when he got back from being 'sick' he found the reaper in a gigai sitting in the classroom, right next to Ichigo… .SEAT! The Hell!?

"Ah… Ichigo, eh… who's this?"

The orangette glanced up and smiled briefly when he saw Infra, then glowered at the reaper girl. Good, at least he didn't like her.

"Infra this is Rukia Kuchiki. She actually came the day you were sick. Rukia… this is Infra Viento."

Infra leaned his elbows on the desk and smiled predatorily. "Sorry miss… but you're kinda in my seat. If you would be so kind as to give it back…?"

She opened her mouth to answer with a rude reply, no doubt, but the door slid open and the teacher walked in. He paused on seeing Infra at his desk with the new girl but then frowned. He was like that for about three seconds before a light of understanding gleamed in his eyes.

"Kuchiki-san! I am so sorry! I forgot to tell you that seat was already taken. You may have the one on the other side of Kurosaki and one row behind."

The annoyance showed clearly on her face for a split second before it was hidden by a mask of sickening politeness. "Of course, sensei! I am so terribly sorry Viento-san," she tittered before grabbing her bag and moving to the aforementioned seat.

Ichigo had this look like Infra had just saved his life and it made the in-disguise hollow snicker.

"Don't like the new girl huh?"

"She acts polite and everyone believes it! I swear she's just a monster in disguise," he whispered harshly.

Infra hummed and turned to the board with a pleased smirk on his face. Ichigo was Pack and he wasn't about to let a reaper brat put him in danger or pull him away.

* * *

"Thank you for the sandwich Orihime! It was delicious~!"

A light blush spread across the girls face and a pleased smile was aimed at him. "Of course! My special sandwiches will always help get rid of lingering colds."

The rest of the lunch group stared incredulously at the two of them before going back to what they were doing. Infra could easily gulp down Orihime's cooking and nobody knew how (truthfully he appreciated whatever food he could eat, a still lingering effect from his Life). Ichigo shook his head and turned to face Infra again.

"Chuu~!"

The boy quickly recoiled with a yelled 'Not again!' Infra chuckled and took a sip of his water. He would always do that to him now. It was his way of marking him as Pack without physically marking or leaving his scent on his friend.

Ichigo had long ago gotten used to it but that didn't mean he liked it. He took a gulp of water.

"Are you gay Ichigo?"

And all the water was sprayed onto a less than happy Keigo. Infra went into a half choking half laughing fit until Chad hit him on the back to steady him. Ichigo was as bright as a cherry, which of course caused Keigo to go on about his friend not telling him something so big. Infra was still laughing, Orihime was also red, Rukia actually looked genuinely interested, Chad was silent, and Mizuiro was still fawning over his newly acquired porn magazine.

Infra was able to finally calm enough to choke out, "Ichigo is as straight as a pole! I'm the one who's gay~!"

All eyes focused on him and Ichigo grumbled about annoying puppies (yes even Ichigo had gotten the nickname from the Starrk from the rare times the lazy man visited. It wasn't fair at all…).

"Why!? Why did you never think to share this with-"

Infra ignored Keigo and caught the relieved look on the princess' face. Really she was too obvious sometimes. Then, all of a sudden, Rukia was up in his face asking all sorts of questions and squealing about taking him shopping. That was the last straw.

"Whoah! Okay! Just because I'm gay does not mean I want to go shopping. Especially with you! I AM still a guy you know! I still have my manly pride!"

"I think your pride died when you willingly took another man up your ass."

It was said so calmly that it took a moment to process through Infra's indignant mind. And when it did, all cognitive functions stopped. He even stopped breathing.

He wanted so badly to let his reiatsu tear out of its confines and devour the girl. He had never had a human or reaper soul but he wouldn't mind making an exception for this one. Not only did she insult him, she assumed (accurately) that he was the sub, and the insult basically spread to all submissive gays. That was NOT okay. At all.

His eye twitched and Ichigo leapt from his spot and tackled Infra to the ground. Everyone else was still staring at Rukia with gaping jaws (except Chad who was frowning).

Rukia glanced around and seemed to notice the mistake she'd made, if Ichigo struggling to hold down a very strong and squirming Infra wasn't enough proof. Her eyes widened and the innocence was poured on in thick waves.

"Oh my! I am so sorry! I didn't mean it as an insult and it came out the wrong way! I have gay friends back home as well, so I don't hate you or gays… I swear I don't…" By now tears were slipping down her cheeks and she was sniffling. Infra had to hand it to her, she was a good actor.

"It's fine," he grunted in reply, pushing the relieved Ichigo off of him. The boy had taken up his offer of a spar (and now did it regularly, of course, he was also subtly training him as well but nobody needed to know that) so the strawberry knew how strong the seemingly innocent boy was.

It was getting closer to the end of lunch and Infra was still sulking in the corner. Rukia was happily chatting away and he sighed in disgust, then jumped when a hand touched his shoulder… he hated the repressed senses. It was the one thing he couldn't get used too, quite annoying really.

"Ah, hello Hime…"

"Rukia is really sorry about what she said you know." It was obvious the girl was trying hard not to think exactly about what she said and Infra grinned in amusement.

"Sure, sure…"

"Um but Tatsuki is coming over after school and I wanted to know if you wanted to come too…?"

Infra blinked and thought for a moment. It shouldn't do any harm; he didn't have to report for another couple of weeks. So he nodded and Orihime squeaked happily.

If only he could get Starrk to meet and approve of her she would be adopted into the Pack right away. She would be a great playmate for Lilinette.

* * *

"Hey guys! I brought over some leeks like you wanted Orihime!"

There was no answer. That was never a good sign and something felt wrong. Like Hollow wrong but there wasn't the presence of a Hollow so what…?

A surge of negative spiritual pressure had Harry knocking down the door to the apartment and running to the backroom. He was just in time to knock Tatsuki to the side enough to make a fatal blow become one that was just hard enough to render the karate girl unconscious. Unfortunately that meant he took the brunt of the hit which knocked his gigai into the hall and him out of it.

"Tatsuki! Infra-san! Guh!"

Crap! Infra could not allow the hollow to sever her chain of fate! Hopefully she wouldn't remember once she got back into her body. It was risky but he knocked the hollow back and was just about to consume him when Rukia and… a soul reaper Ichigo?

_Oh please don't tell me that is where the reaper's powers went_, he thought fervently.

The closer the boy got the more he could tell that, yes, Ichigo was now a shinigami and, yes, if he didn't get his ass in his gigai NOW he would be found out. So the husky hollow did just that. He booked it to his gigai, jumped in, acted unconscious, and thanked his lucky stars Ichigo didn't seem to be proficient in controlling or sensing reiatsu.

He watched through slitted eyes as the low level hollow kicked his friend's ass in the beginning before he finally found the resolve to protect. Then he pitied Ichigo once he found out hollows used to be humans. Poor boy would be traumatized… Eventually the strawberry won and Orihime and Tatsuki were set to rights.

It was as right as they were about to leave that Rukia spotted his foot that was barely lit with the light from the room. Damn…

"Ichigo… wasn't Viento-san invited over today as well?"

Ah, a smart cookie.

"Yeah…?"

"I think I found him."

"What!?"

Ichigo jerked around and followed the finger that pointed into the gloomy hallway and spotted the foot as well. "Crap!"

Infra was given an immediate check over and Ichigo found the mush that the back of his gigai's head had turned into. There was a sobbing gasp and he was immediately lifted off the floor.

* * *

No. No NONONONONO! This couldn't be happening! Not to Infra! He was so glad that the girls had gotten away practically unscathed but his heart stopped when Rukia pointed to his friends body in the hallway. If she hadn't spotted it…

So he checked his pulse: very weak, his skin was clammy, and… and… the back of the black haired boy's head was complete mush. He had to get his friend to the clinic!

Ichigo ignored Rukia who followed him quietly and ran as fast as he could. It wasn't fast enough and he could feel his friend slipping. He did not want to see the boy as a spirit. Not at all.

He set him on a bed, completely forgetting he couldn't be seen until Rukia gently placed a hand over his mouth to stop him from yelling for his dad. Angrily, Ichigo glanced at her and she gestured to his uniform. There was not time for this! But he needed to, because if he didn't his family would know something was going on. So he rushed to his body, slipped in and stumbled back down the steps.

* * *

"There's not much more I can do for him Ichigo," his father stated in a subdued voice. "He's being transferred to Karakura General Hospital. The ambulance is on the way. Infra is lucky to be alive right now…"

Yuzu and Karin, who were standing in the corner, had reactions on par with Ichigo's grief. Karin curled up in a ball on the floor and Yuzu sobbed and started to pull her twin from the room to get away while Ichigo himself stared blankly… This wasn't supposed to happen this way. This wasn't supposed to happen at all! Not this way…

"Ichigo… I-Ichi…go…"

"Infra! How the hell are you awake?" Dammit! He wouldn't cry!

"I-Ichi… chuu…"

"Damn bastard. You're so annoying," Ichigo said without heat and conviction.

"Muh…there w-was… muh…m-monster… where…?"

He could see Hollows? Oh god! He'd come so close to losing him!

"There was nothing there puppy. You got your head smashed by a bat. Remember?"

Infra smirked tiredly and his eyes started to slip shut again. "No! No! Don't you dare go to sleep!" Ichigo wanted to shake the teen but that would only make the injuries worse.

"Ichigo the ambulance is here. The twins said he woke up?"

"Yeah… but he fell right back asleep…!"

"Well you know this is a good sign of recovery. He'll be fine." Isshin sounded more professional than he looked. He'd come to love the boy like another son and to lose him would be devastating. Ichigo said he had shown up at the door looking chipper as usual until he fell face forward and had to be rushed into the medical room.

How Infra could have walked like that was a mystery but there was still lingering adrenaline in his system so maybe he hadn't even felt the wound until he'd collapsed. It was known to happen…

"Oh! Masaki! I can't lose our adopted son!"

* * *

Infra sniffed lightly as he pulled himself from the gigai. It had sustained major damage and kept trying to reject him to start repairs. Szayel wasn't going to be too happy… Neither would Starrk for that matter. Great… Well as long as the vitals kept themselves running with help from the human machines it should be okay. Oooo~ and he could use the time that he's in a 'coma' to be in Hueco Mundo. He hates causing grief for his wellbeing but he didn't get a lot of time there and Aizen was due back any time. Yep. He was going to stay until he had to report.

* * *

_Where am I?_

_The desert was barren only spotted with tree. It was night time. He searched for… what was he looking for? He didn't know but it was important. It could help. _

_"Well, well. What do we have here? A human in Hueco Mundo? You'll make a delicious meal!"_

_Claws. Teeth. Pain. The feeling of being drained-_

_Grimmjow!_

"Grimmjow!"

"You little shit! Ill scatter your guts across the desert!"

Infra squeaked and tore out of the room with peals of laughter trailing along behind him. Grimmjow scowled and scrubbed his face with one hand. That dream… it had been from before becoming a Menos Grande. How did he remember that? He barely remembered the struggle of the different souls in the Menos. And why did it seem like he was the one being eaten? It didn't make sense.

He grumbled and hopped off of his messy but still made bed and exited the room.

"Taking a cat nap?" Infra asked with a grin, popping his head out from the corner of the hallway. His lips twitched into a feral snarl and he chased after the infernal mutt.

* * *

Aizen really and truly wanted to cackle at that moment but he refrained himself for two reasons. 1: While the wind elemental had come to like him, he knew for a fact that he still creeped the child out. 2: It was undignified. Period. So he used evil chuckles instead.

Urahara had been a fool to put the Hogyoku into the girl's gigai. Now it had hidden inside her very soul and all he had to do was get her into the Soul Society to retrieve it. Ichigo would most likely follow, unfortunately, which would lead the Kurosaki family into the focus of the corrupt government. Well, he would just have to plan accordingly then.

He would most definitely need to get proof about the shinigami being 'evil' and maybe if the boy proved stubborn use his family and friends safety (not threats of course, it would never do…, just bring to light the danger they're in) as a reason. The boy's raw power would be very useful especially once it was refined.

He dismissed his informant and went back to plotting any and every scenario.

* * *

Starrk yawned and happily pulled his young mate closer. Three months was definitely the longest he had seen his lover for an extended period of time in a while. It was nice to just relax. And Lilinette had calmed down as well, not being as rowdy.

He sniffed the slender neck and savored the smell of fur and spices. Infra shivered. Coyote grinned against the boy's neck and flipped him over onto all fours. Infra arched into his touch. Yes, he was very glad the boy was home.

* * *

"What do you mean Nel has gone missing!"

Of course Aizen had to be right down the hall during his outburst and heard every word. The frown of anger on his face was terrifying. It wasn't very often that Aizen didn't know something in Los Noches, especially something of importance such as his third espada going missing. His God Complex wouldn't allow anything less. So, it was a very unhappy shinigami that interrogated the poor hollow that Infra had just been yelling at.

It was also a very sad Infra that was ordered back to his mission now that Szayel had completely fixed the gigai and added a few new safety and repair features.

* * *

"Ichigo… You should let him go. It's like his soul isn't there."

"If his soul isn't in his body then where would it be!? You're the all-knowing shinigami! Tell me!"

"I-I'm sorry. I don't know…"

This was the conversation Infra woke up to. He had slipped into the gigai last night and fallen asleep in his exhaustion. "…Chuu~…"

Ichigo's head snapped over so fast it there was an audible crack. The gigai's mouth curved up slightly, "You're very loud you know."

The voice was raspy from misuse and he was immediately given water. It was soothing and refreshing. Hmmmmmmm…

Ichigo was so relieved. Never in his life had he actually felt this relieved (except when he saved his family from the hollow). Infra was awake AND coherent enough to snark. He dimly heard Rukia mutter something about impossible but he was too focused on his friend to notice.

"You're an idiot you know that? It's not nice to scare your friends half to death…"

Infra blinked in amusement. "Go call everyone like you want to, Strawberry."

Ichigo's eye twitched but he decided he would let this one go. The teen was just waking up from a month coma.

* * *

He watched in amusement as the quincy summoned hundreds upon hundreds of hollows in petty revenge and eventually a Menos Grande came out (he chased it back through the garganta and ate it. Lots of power. Yum~!). It was really funny and it seemed to endear Ichigo to the Quincy. Well at least they would have a good clothes repairman in their group… hehehehe!

* * *

Two weeks later Infra entered the school building for the first time in a while. Everyone gave him a cheerful wave and some even congratulated him on surviving. When he entered the classroom he noticed something different immediately.

"Hey Ichigo," the orangette's head snapped up in delight at seeing him recovered, "Where's Rukia?"

"You remember her?"

"Uh, duh! I didn't get amnesia, just a head wound! C'mon man seriously?"

"Sorry… I don't know where she went."

But that wasn't all. Everyone forgot Rukia… At least now he knew what the boy had meant about remembering her. Yeesh. Must have been a memory modifier (which obviously didn't work on him) that she used. So now he was following Ichigo around.

He had the same bad feeling that he ignored the night Rukia gave her powers to Ichigo. And when the shinigami showed up he was proven right.

* * *

**AN: **Yay! I'm so happy I finished this! I wanted to get the corrected chapters and the new chapter out in one day. Woot!

**Slight Spoiler for my Story:**

Maybe, if you can figure out what the dream means, you'll find out why Sirius is now a Panther hollow.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Not as many reviews as I would like but I figured I could be nice because I haven't been very good with this story.

No it's not a Rukia _bashing_ story but she isn't held in a very good light for most of the story. By Infra anyway…

* * *

_Fight_

He had the same bad feeling that he ignored the night Rukia gave her powers to Ichigo. And when the shinigami showed up he was proven right.

Infra jerked up in bed and tossed the covers off. There were shinigami in town, very high ranking from their reiatsu, and both Ichigo and Rukia were there. Not good! Aizen had told him to keep Ichigo away from the shinigami, especially once they came for Rukia.

After throwing on some pants and a shirt, he threw the window open and jumped out. The wind cradled him and slowed his fall to a stop before he shot off like a rocket in the direction of the energies.

_Ichigo Ichigo Ichigo!_

He could see them now. One with black hair held back by clips and the other with wild red hair and tattoos. The problem was that the black haired one (definitely the stronger of the two) was slowly pulling out his blade and the intent around him was to kill.

He urged the wind to get him there faster and they howled their agreement. The captain, as Infra could now clearly see the haori just not the number on the back, jerked his head to the left and saw Infra approaching. He disappeared and Infra couldn't sense him in his gigai.

The hollow kept going, intent on getting to his orange haired friend before the Captain could. The wind gathered to his right and formed an automatic shield to stop the blade that appeared from nowhere. Infra jerked to the side in surprise but didn't stop until he was safely in front of Ichigo.

"Infra!"

"Strawberry. What the hell happened to you? Seriously, what's with the get up?"

"Infra what- how did you get here?"

"That's not really important at the moment but I will say the wind helped me."

"What the- Who the hell are you!?"

Infra glared at the tattooed male as his wind flared and stopped another attack.

"Interesting," a smooth baritone voice said.

The captain appeared behind his subordinate again with an intrigued air about him. Infra ignored him and turned his glare onto the female shinigami. "Rukia, what's going on?"

"Viento-san… what are you doing here," she queried softly.

He sighed and replied tensely, "There was something off in the air as I was having one of my midnight walks. Then there were whispers… whispers saying death was here and Ichigo was in danger."

While that wasn't completely true he did hear the whispers of the wind sometimes. Half-truths were such a wonderful thing.

"Now who are you guys?"

"Pfft! As if we have to explain ourselves to a squirt like you," exclaimed the red head. Infra's eye twitched.

"We are here to arrest and detain Rukia Kuchiki for the crime of transferring her Soul Reaper powers to a human."

"And the punishment," Infra asked lowly.

"The punishment is death."

* * *

It was a statement that held no sympathy and Ichigo surged forward from behind his friend. Rukia had been kind to him in her own way and she had saved his family at the cost of her own life. He could not allow her to be taken like this!

"Ichigo don't!"

Byakuya dodged the unskillful lunge and batted the large sword away with no effort. The orangette growled in frustration and tried again only for the outcome to be the same.

"You are slow."

"Ichigo stop! He's stronger than you!"

He ignored his old friend and settled into an offensive stance. He would not owe another girl his life!

And in that moment it started to rain.

"Ichigo watch out!"

Pain exploded in his right collarbone as it was severed and he fell.

"You're slow. Even to fall."

"Ichigo!"

* * *

Infra jumped forward and was wacked by the flat of a large blade (stupid red haired monkey!) sending him careening into a wall just as Rukia leapt forward to try to help Ichigo and was restrained by the weaker one. The gigai was still in good condition so he hardly worried but that didn't mean it didn't hurt to struggle up into a sitting position.

He felt really guilty letting Ichigo get hurt like that but Aizen had said that Rukia's powers needed to be drained from the orangette and she needed to be taken to the Soul Society so his plans could continue. And he couldn't look that powerful, yet.

As the two, with one unwilling passenger, turned to go Ichigo was able to summon enough strength to grab the captain's sleeve. Infra was going to jump in to make sure his friend received no further injuries but the shinigami bitch was able to kick his hand away.

"Why sully your blade further on him? Let us go, brother."

Brother? The bastard was the brother of the bitch? Well…

"Wait Rukia, quit joking around! Look at me!"

"Ichigo let her go," Infra interjected quietly.

The fierce glare turned onto the hollow and Infra just shook his head. "Hey…"

"Be still." Ichigo paused in surprise.

"If you move one inch from there… Listen to Viento-san. Try coming after me… and I will never forgive you!" Rukia turned tearful eyes onto Ichigo which stopped him in his tracks and then she left with the two shinigami leaving the two friends in the rain with these parting words, "You don't have long to live. Lie there and think of happier times."

"Tch. Stupid bitch forgetting about me with her tearful goodbyes. Bah!"

He limped over to Ichigo and slung his arm over his shoulder and lifted. Infra huffed and grunted in pain when his bruises and maybe a few fractured bones grinded together. Ichigo blacked out and Infra growled in irritation. He was about to exit his gigai to better carry his friend but an approaching presence he hadn't felt before stopped him.

"Need some help?"

A blond man wearing a green and white striped hat and an umbrella appeared across the street. Kisuke Urahara… Aizen had described him and given the warning about his intelligence. He would have to be very careful around this one.

"Yes please," Infra rasped.

* * *

"If you're going to send Ichigo to this… Soul Society, I'm going to go with him! Ichigo is my friend and I'm not going to leave him."

The smile on the man's face was scarily reminiscent of Szayel and it was creepy.

"Of course not. I could have a good friend of mine help train you-"

Infra shook his head, "No. I know my… power isn't this reiatsu thing and I want to figure it out for myself. Don't worry, I have excellent self-discipline…" A wry smile appeared followed the most girlish shriek Harry had ever heard.

"It seems your friend is awake~!"

"Um… right. I'll just wait out here for him…"

A couple minutes later, Ichigo came stumbling out after a very cheerful Urahara. His friend paused and his slight frown became deeper.

"Ichigo! I'm glad you're oka-"

"When were you going to tell me?"

Infra nervously scratched the back of his head. "Tell you what?"

"That you had some power over the wind?"

Infra frowned at the anger in Ichigo's voice and shot back in a nasty tone, "Yeah? Well when were you planning on telling me you became a Reaper? Huh? It's not like I could have just gone up to you and said 'Oh hey Ichigo I have control over wind! Just thought you should know, ya know?'"

It was the substitute soul reaper's turn to become nervous. "It… It's not something you can just up and tell someone and Rukia…"

Infra sighed and placated his friend with a 'yeah'.

"So Urahara-san has offered to train you so you can go after Rukia. I'm coming with you," Ichigo opened his mouth to protest, "and don't you dare say I can't come. I may not be perfect with my power but I think I'm pretty good and in ten days I'll be way over the level of kick ass. Got it? Wherever you go I go…"

Ichigo sighed and slumped into a sitting position on the ground. Infra slowly stood up and leaned over his friend. "Chuu~!"

"Gah!"

Infra left the house laughing.

* * *

"Infra! Starrk will be happy to see you!"

"Lilinette!" Infra happily swept the girl into a hug and spun once before setting her down and taking off to their quarters.

He reached the door to their room, flung it open, and launched himself at the sleeping figure on the bed. There was a grunt followed by Infra finding himself on his back with a large body looming over him ominously. He just grinned happily and kissed his alpha.

Of course the actions taken from there didn't need to be mentioned but it left two very satisfied canines and an exasperated younger girl.

* * *

"You called for me Aizen –san?"

"Ah, yes. Your report?"

"Ichigo is training for ten days before he and some friends, Chad with the arm of the devil, Orihime with her hairpins that turn into faeries, and Uryu the quincy, will enter into the Soul Society."

"Yes… Rukia was safely detained for execution. Her powers have been drained from him?"

"Yes Aizen-san. Kisuke Urahara will be working with him to bring out his own Soul Reaper powers. I'm not sure how but it involves the potential loss of his life."

Aizen nodded with a thoughtful look. "And you wish to go with Kurosaki-kun, yes?"

Infra nodded.

"Then drop your gigai off at the lab and tell Szayel I wish for him to make it possible for the reishi of the gigai to act like a body even in the spirit world. He has thirty days to accomplish this if you are to go."

"Yes sir," he said with a smile.

Aizen waved his hand dismissing him and the husky hollow practically skipped out.

* * *

"So… I'm here for thirty days of intensive training with my wind only… Can you help me?"

Dispassionate yellow and black eyes stared at the group of three in front of him. Ulquiorra wasn't a close friend (the bat hollow didn't believe in attachments) but he was very loyal to those he thought deserved it. Infra just happened to be one of them along with Aizen.

"I have nothing to do for the next ten days but I have a long term mission from Aizen-sama after that."

"That's fine! I've got ten days with you then."

It was ten days of offensive training. With the bat's regenerative abilities he didn't have to worry about injuries getting in the way. It also helped him learn to keep away from fatal points. But it wasn't just Ulquiorra allowing Infra to attack him. No the other hollow fought back and he was strong, really strong.

By the end of the ten days he was very tired from going nonstop. Ulquiorra left and after a day of rest Starrk took up the slack and forced Infra to use mobile wind projectiles. This was unfortunately very new and very hard. Infra could easily shoot a ball of wind but to control it while still directing the wind to keep him in the air and keep a shield at all times was draining and took a lot of concentration.

After nine days of constantly having some wind with him and some travelling and destroying he allowed himself a day of rest. It was on the 21st day in Hueco Mundo that he was at a loss on what to do. Well, until Aizen approached him and offered to help with speed and avoidance training.

If the canine had thought the other two were hard, this was hell. Aizen had the most monstrous stamina that he had ever laid eyes on. The shinigami would use a technique called shunpo (Flash step and the arrancar equivalent was sonido) and Infra, using his wind only to increase his speed, had to detect and dodge all incoming attacks. Needless to say, he was a very bruised and scraped puppy by the end of that nine day session.

"Thank you for helping in my training Aizen-san."

"Of course. It is always a pleasure to help those in my ranks grow stronger."

Geh… Of course it's to your own benefit… stupid God complex…

Infra bowed to his 'leader' and walked to his shared bedroom so he could collapse and snuggle with his Alpha for his last day.

Sazayel found him before then and briefly explained that the gigai would work and stay working only if he didn't use his reiatsu. In the Soul Society and Hueco Mundo it would suppress the energy but not restrict access to it like it did in the human world. If he used it, not only would the gigai fade into spirit particles too small to see it would also put him on the Seireitei's map as his reiatsu belonged to a hollow. That wouldn't be a pretty sight.

* * *

Infra panted as he burst into Urahara Shoten. He had seen the message on the wall and that had been an hour old so he had rushed to the store. Quickly glancing around he spotted the back room that led to the underground training room. He lifted the hatch grabbed the sides of the ladder and let gravity drag him down. Nearing the bottom, Infra's hands clenched around the metal rails dramatically slowing his descent and allowing him to land softly on the dirt.

He jogged over to the giant gate where Orihime, Chad, Uryu, Urahara, Ichigo, and a black cat were.

"Sorry I'm late. Got lost on the road of life, ya know?"

"Infra," Ichigo growled.

"Okay, okay," the hollow said holding his hands up in surrender. "I'm here now and we can go right?"

Urahara nodded and gestured to the gate. "It's all up to you… Kurosaki-san."

What did that mean? Well no one else seemed to notice it so Infra ignored it in favor of following the group through the Senkaimon. As they were running there was a terrible rumble behind them. The cat, Yoruichi, had a mini freak out and told everyone to kick their asses into gear unless they wanted to be nonexistent because that was the Cleaner.

Yeah with a capital 'C'. Wasn't life grand? No, no it wasn't and it seemed the more time he spent in the human world the more his old luck seemed to seep back into his being. Great…

Then to make matters worse, the idiot quincy refused to remove his cape stating it was traditional. Yeah well traditional was about to get them all killed so in a fit of annoyance, Infra slowed, grabbed the fashion freak and gathered wind under the soles of his feet to launch past everyone there and through the little hole of light into the Soul Society.

There was a resounding boom behind him and everyone else came flying out of the little gate and face first into the ground. Infra snorted and landed softly, dropping the quincy on his head and surveying the group to make sure everyone was okay. And they were, until the black cat decided to show its claws and rake them across Hime's face.

"Idiot girl! If your reiatsu had touched the cleaner you wouldn't exist anymore!"

"But Chad was in danger!"

"And you save him by almost destroying yourself?"

"Calm down. Everyone's okay. No harm no foul right?"

The cat snorted (the only cat he had ever seen do that was Grimmjow and he was a hollow so that didn't count…). Infra adjusted his black hoodie and black shirt and patted down his blue jeans to make sure lingering dust was gone.

"Ah that must be the Soul Society!"

Then Ichigo shot off towards the buildings in the distance almost getting brained by a falling wall for his troubles. Once again the cat went into a rant. That thing sure had lungs… Wonder what would happen if it met Grimmjow… Infra snickered.

_BOOM_

Something else fell from the sky. Seriously where was this stuff coming from? Infra turned his attention to what the giant man was saying.

"He was here first so he will fight me!"

Ah this must be one of the four gate guardians that Aizen had lectured about during his brutal training session. "I am Jidanbo! Gatekeeper of the White Road gate and no one shall pass without my permission!"

As the… duel between the two progressed with Ichigo dodging or blocking all hits, Infra came to learn that the giant was horrible at math. His great Jidan Ten Strike Festival Special Attack had more than eleven swings before Ichigo shattered the others Zanpakto. Ouch…

There were crocodile tears and Ichigo's frantic apologies which sent Infra into fits of laughter before the giant calmed.

"You are kind. You can pass. Jidanbo authorizes you to pass through the White Road gate!"

"Woohoo~! Go Ichigo!"

The hollow pranced up to his friend. "Chuu~!"

"Gah!"

Gleeful laughter followed as Jidanbo lifted the gate. It was amazing considering how heavy it looked…

But the giant paused halfway and Infra peered around the body mass curiously. He caught a flash of silver before a falling arm filled his vision. That wasn't good…

"Why're ya openin the gate Jidanbo?"

The giant shivered and struggled to keep the gate upon his shoulders.

"I was defeated. So I opened the gate as I was supposed to."

Gin, for it was Ichimaru Gin standing in front of them all, grinned even wider and raised his sword as if to strike again. "Yur only defeated when yur dead."

Ichigo rushed in and raised his sword to defend the gentle giant and Infra sighed in exasperation. As Yoruichi warned the newly trained shinigami away from the dangerous captain, Infra snuck around Jidanbo's other side and ignored the conversation going on. Finding a good hiding spot behind a crate and the wall on the inside he formed a destructive ball of wind and sent it to circle behind the giant and shoot at the third squad captain.

The creepy grin faded a bit as he dodged but the ball only followed his movements. After a minute the captain growled and cut straight through the wind slicing the ball in half. Infra could have reformed it around the blade but he wasn't truly trying to injure the fox like man… Aizen wouldn't be too happy if he killed his right hand man.

Gin quickly turned and growled out, "Shoot 'm dead, Shinso!"

The small sword extended quickly directed at the still confused Ichigo, Infra cursed and formed a thin shield between the sharp tip and his friend's chest. Unfortunately, doing so gave his position away to the other man… Ichimaru shunpo'd over and Infra allowed the soft grip around his throat, pretending to be struggling.

The last thing Ichigo saw before the gate shut was a struggling Infra and a smiling, waving Ichimaru Gin.

"Yur wind really is annoyin ya know Viento?"

* * *

**AN:** So how did you like it? I thought it was okay… Review please~!


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Thank you all for your reviews!

Especially ZucchiniBiscuits who made my day and even made my mom laugh.

So I've written this in the other two stories I've updated but I'll put it in here as well. I don't know how my updates are going to go because I'm working and getting ready for Coast Guard boot camp. But I'll try my best.

* * *

_Fight_

"Yur wind really is annoyin ya know Viento?"

Infra snorted. "Yeah, yeah. You can let go now."

"Oh? Why should I do that," the man asked as he leaned his nose against the side of the hollow's face.

"Because if you don't I'm going to team up with Grimmjow and prank your ass to next year!"

Gin's hand dropped from his neck as the man snickered. "I'd like ta see ya try that anyway~!"

Infra frowned. His threat was true but it would definitely be a challenge. Gin was notoriously slippery and he had some wicked pranking ideas. "You're on fox-face!"

Gin's grin became a little less frosty and somewhat more real before he turned on his heel and jumped away. Infra watched him go. He'd have to warn Grimmjow some way before the cat got caught unaware and it became a battle royale instead of two-on-one.

Ichigo couldn't stop staring at the gate even while Inoue was healing the giant Jidanbo. Infra… he had been left behind to the mercy of that creepy ass captain. Yoruichi said he would be taken to jail and put on trial, maybe executed, but they had time to save him alongside Rukia. The cat had also said that if his friend hadn't done what he had, either Jidanbo or Ichigo or both would be dead.

Infra was always putting himself on the line for Ichigo. He remembered when the boy moved to Karakura with Starrk (who was rarely around as he traveled for work) they had become fast friends. The orangette still hadn't forgotten the somewhat humiliating first meeting but Infra never mentioned it so he didn't either. Unfortunately, becoming friends with Ichigo as openly as Infra did meant the smaller boy got subjected to bullies and thugs as well.

The elder quickly found out why Infra had been itching for a fight the first time. Everyone who came near the duo were promptly beaten to a pulp if they had hostile intentions. Then Tatsuki met Infra and all hell broke loose. The strong and independent girl didn't like Infra. She thought he was just using Ichigo to get into fights and thus get both of them into more trouble. Obviously, they came to blows over this (Infra won spectacularly) and it was then that they bonded and eventually became the friends they are today.

Then Ichigo had two protectors, Infra being the more outspoken and more likely to pound you into the ground. Lately, though, Infra was getting more and more injured as their enemies became stronger than either of them could handle.

A loud explosion shook everyone from their thoughts and Ichigo saw a figure burst up through the smoke and take off towards the center of the Seireitei.

"That was Infra," Ichigo gaped.

"Well at least we know your friend isn't in jail yet," Yoruichi replied amused.

* * *

Infra cackled as he flew away from the loud explosion he had caused. Now Ichigo knew he was somewhat safe and would focus on getting into the Seireitei instead of worrying about him.

Now… to find Aizen and get instructions on what to do next… and cause a little mayhem on the way~!

Infra spent almost the whole day searching for Aizen through the sky and setting up mass pranks that would be funny and a hindrance to the shinigami's movements. By the time he was finished it was dark and the captains had been called for a meeting. He was sorely tempted to prank them as well but in his gigai it just wouldn't be smart. Starrk would kick his ass all over Hueco Mundo and Lili would pound him into the ground once he was finished. He also couldn't get to Aizen as long as he was in the meeting. It was annoying, so he spent his time looking for weak shinigami to pick off. Better to thin out the competition now before the war actually started.

Infra really wanted to eat the shinigami just to see what they tasted like but… that wouldn't be too smart either… Oh! He could look for Rukia and-

"INTRUDERS!"

He almost fell from the sky in shock. Had they seen him? It shouldn't be possible! He was too high for someone to think he was a person. Then what?

A brilliant light shone in his peripheral vision and he turned to get a better look. What looked like a cannonball was slowly pushing through the force field. Which then split into four groups…

Those must be Ichigo and co.!

One was coming in his direction and Infra decided he was going to make sure they were okay before going after Aizen.

The alarm was still ringing, though, and from his vantage point Infra could see swarms of shinigami moving through the streets. Oh! This is just what he'd been waiting for! Whoever was zooming towards the ground could take care of themselves for a few moments. The hollow zoomed in the opposite direction intent on triggering his pranks.

All over the Seireitei unsuspecting shinigami were bombarded with buckets of super glue, feathers, buckets of paint, fish guts, and other things they would rather never mention in their lifetime. Ever.

Infra sped back towards where he had watched the first person or group fall. All that was left was a giant crater. Infra assumed it was Chad and left, the Mexican was more than capable of taking care of himself. The next location was completely empty with nothing to say anyone could have been here except for the shinigami milling about in confusion.

Infra sighed and took off to the next spot. This time he was much luckier.

"Ichigo~! Chuu~!"

"Gah!"

"Hm? Who's this," the hollow asked looking at the unconscious shinigami on the ground.

"Infra," Ichigo sighed in relief. "When I saw the gate close with the creepy captain holding you," he trailed off.

"Ah. Well if you would believe it… I'm a lot better at running away than I am at fighting. I just don't like to run."

Ichigo nodded in acknowledgment and scratched his cheek while looking down at the knocked out man. "I guess that would make sense… and this is Ikkaku. I beat him and Ganju was being chased by another one. I'm not sure what happened to him…"

"Oh… I think he's waking up," Infra stated pointed at the hairless man unnecessarily.

The shinigami blinked and muttered something under his breath in a disbelieving tone.

"You awake," Ichigo asked. "Yo."

"Ichigo… you idiot! Why are you still here…?"

"Eh… he sure is loud," Infra said crouching over the prone man.

"Gah! Who are you!?"

"I'm Infra! Who are you," the hollow asked with a smile.

"Ikkaku Madarame," the man stated warily.

"Nice ta meetcha~!" Infra gave a jaunty wave before standing from his crouch and moving back over to Ichigo.

"Hey, I just found out. The Zanpakto returns to its normal state when its owner is unconscious."

Ichigo tapped the blade he was holding (Infra assumed it was Ikkaku's) against his head.

"My Hozukimaru! Give it back punk…!"

"I never wanted it anyway," Ichigo scoffed. "I was just borrowing some of your medicine. But I used it all between us." Ichigo tilted the sword up so the empty hilt could be seen.

"D-damn you! What are you trying to do!?"

"Um, I just borrowed some you don't have to get so pissed about it." Infra scratched his head. Really what was this guy's problem?

"How could I not die after losing so much blood!?" Did he want to die? "What a shame to get saved by the enemy! Damn… If only I could move right now, I'd kill you!"

Infra snorted and Ichigo scoffed again. "Che! So ungrateful. I shouldn't have helped you… Oh well. I don't really care if you thank me, but… I want to ask a question."

"I thought you would. Such bad luck… What do you want to know? My birthday," the man asked with trepidation.

Infra snorted with laughter but Ichigo only seriously inquired, "Where is Rukia Kuchiki?"

Oh yeah… the bitch is the whole reason we're here… Infra had forgotten that in his quest to find Aizen and prank the hell out of as many shinigami as possible while picking off the weaklings.

"…Kuchiki? The girl on death row? Why do you want to know?"

"I'm here to rescue her!"

The hollow thought his friend sounded a bit petulant but he wasn't going to say anything. He'd probably get smacked in the head…

"R-Rescue her! How many of you are there! Seven? Maybe eight?"

"Six people and a cat," the orangette stated bluntly.

"A cat!? You really think you can rescue her with six people!?"

"Yeah!"

By this time Infra was writhing on the ground trying to hold in his mirth. Ichigo could be so awesome at times!

Ikkaku burst out laughing so hard tears formed in the man's eyes. "How is that possible? Are you guys idiots!?" Infra sat up offended (even if it was somewhat true). "Shit! I laughed too hard I opened my wound!"

"You're the idiot," Ichigo replied with a twitching eye.

"In any case," Ikkaku started. "Go straight south from here and you'll see the main offices of the 13 divisions."

"Ooooh!? You're going to tell me? Where is she? Where?"

"Shut up! Listen quietly or I won't tell you," the elder man snapped. "West of the offices is a tall white tower… She is probably in that tower."

"R-really?" Ichigo was on the floor by now and Infra had scooted closer.

"You don't believe me!? I don't care what your real intentions are. But if you want to go there go ahead. Also, if you stay here much longer someone may come! So if you want to go, go now!"

"I'll repay you later, Ikkaku."

"Don't repay me," the shinigami whispered looking away.

"Come on Ichigo!" Infra jumped up and pulled Ichigo in the western direction. "I can go ahead and check out that tower-"

"…Hold on a second. Who is the strongest in you group? Is it you?"

Ichigo frowned and answered, "More or less."

"…You better watch out for my captain. He has no interest in the weak. If what you say is true. He'll definitely seek you out."

Infra frowned. A captain that sought out strong fights… must be Kenpachi. Well that wasn't good. The one captain that Aizen had warned him away from, other than Yamamoto, was the battle crazy captain of the 11th division. He'd have to be careful not to get caught then, especially since he had the feeling Ichigo would run into the man.

"Is he strong?"

Infra wanted to laugh at the absurdity of the question. Was Captain Kenpachi Zaraki strong? Pffft!

"You'll know when you see him. Actually… you'll know how strong he is. If you survive the meeting."

Infra would make sure his friend lived even if he had to suffer Aizen's wrath by exposing himself.

"…What's his name?"

"Kenpachi Zaraki."

* * *

Ichigo you idiot!

Infra dodged another blast as they went in the direction that Ganju's firework went off. The substitute shinigami was still yelling the mystery man's name while running full pelt down the streets.

"Ichigo wall!"

They both skidded to a halt and turned left. His friend seemed to recognize the man running away from the other 11th division members as he was waving his hand. The hollow assumed it was Ganju.

"Hey! Hey! Stay away! Why are you getting chased by so many people! There's no use of regrouping if we're surrounded!"

While it was true there was nowhere else to go and Infra wasn't sure he'd be able to take both of them on his winds. Note to self: Next training session work on lifting heavy loads with wind only and without tearing it apart or dropping it…

"I'm telling you to stay away!"

A full out brawl erupted as the two groups clashed with the three ryoka in the middle. Infra made sure none of them got closer while Ganju and Ichigo discussed what to do next.

"It would be great if you guys could hurry- OOF!"

The 11th division shinigami who'd been pushing someone through the crowd suddenly shoved a short black haired young man right on top of Infra who had not been expecting it. They both hit the floor.

"Ichigo, I just thought of a way to get us out of here…"

"You too? Let's do it then."

"Guys I don't think it'll work," Infra said noticing the medicinal smell that wafted off the newest shinigami and the pack with a 4th division insignia. Of course he was ignored.

"Get out of here? Excuse me… but are you those intruders… that we're fighting against," the boy said with rising terror.

"Get off!"

Infra pushed the boy up who was promptly grabbed and held at sword point by Ichigo.

"Hey make way! If you don't want your friend to die!"

Infra just sighed as all the men around them stilled. "What do you think you're doin? Does it look like we're friends?"

"Aren't you," Ichigo asked, confused.

"I…I'm from the 4th division and they're from the 11th."

"We, the 11th division, are the strongest of the 13 divisions. The 4th, on the other hand, are so weak that all they're good for is medical operations."

Infra twitched. _Without those medical operations I bet the 11th division would be next to nonexistent_, he thought darkly.

"Furthermore, the division we like the least… is the 4th!" They all promptly burst out laughing and cheering them on to kill the poor kid. Infra suffered a full body twitch. He hated bullies! But it created a nice dissension in the ranks… Bad thoughts!

"NOOOOOO!"

"Hold on a second! Just because you dislike him, you don't care if he dies!? That's horrible!"

"Nicely said," Ichigo said stiffly.

The surrounding shinigami started calling for their blood again and advancing.

"We'll just have to fight our way out then!"

Infra stood quickly just barely being missed by whatever knocked out half of the 11th's ranks. Ichigo and Ganju took off with the healer but Infra wasn't as lucky and got caught by a blade on his arm. He grunted in pain and blasted the men around him into the walls.

"I will end this in two minutes."

Infra blinked and turned towards the ominous voice. Then he watched gleefully as Chad painfully took out the whole of the mob.

"Chad! Thanks for the help~! Ichigo and that new guy Ganju got away! Chuu~," he said as he jumped and placed a kiss on the tip of the teen's nose.

Chad nodded silently and offered his arm. Infra blinked at it. "You haven't slept in a while have you?"

"Eeeeh! How could you tell?"

"You are slow."

It was blunt but true. He hadn't slept in six days and it was taking its toll. The 4th divisioner would have never surprised him nor would he have gotten caught by that sword either. It wouldn't be good to completely collapse in a hostile environment, especially since he still hadn't alerted Aizen to where he was.

The disguised hollow sighed and walked around the arm to hop onto the teen's back. He wrapped his arms loosely around Chad's neck and lay his head down against the muscled shoulder. Steel arms wrapped around his legs and held him up. And finally, he allowed his eyes to close.

* * *

Infra sat up with a gasp. Something was wrong. Ichigo was in trouble and he… it was almost like he had felt a flare of hollow reiatsu but that shouldn't be possible. He was the only hollow here!

Where was here anyway?

He looked around. It seemed to be an abandoned warehouse and Chad was sitting in the corner watching him. His arm was also wrapped securely in bandages.

"Chad I have to go. I know I wasn't here long but I can travel with the wind and… and I think Ichigo is in trouble."

Chad nodded his head with a frown and Infra took off. He slipped out of the giant door making sure to close it properly so his friend wouldn't be found out. Infra checked his surroundings and sensing no one, launched himself into the air, following Ichigo's spiritual energy.

_Not even a minute later…_

"IYAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

Harry clapped his hands over his ears and tumbled down onto a nearby roof. Cautiously he sat up and removed his hands. Was that a dying banshee? Nah… it was worse. Sensing other people coming he lay on his belly and slithered to the edge of the building.

There in a courtyard of sorts was a gathering of shinigami, lieutenants by their badges, staring horrified at… at… a blank wall? The hell? And why were they calling Aizen's name as if he died? Seriously! What was going on?

"What's going on? Who's screaming so early in the morning?"

Well, hello Gin and thanks for voicing my question.

"It was you!"

The midget lieutenant charged Gin, drawing her sword while doing so. Why? What did Gin do now? Infra was so confused. He pulled back in case he was seen but kept half an ear on the conversation. So putting the pieces together… They were looking at the wall as if Aizen was hanging there dead and then midget attacks a captain. So she thought he killed Aizen? But there wasn't anything there. Was it his mysterious power coming into play again?

"Burst! Tobiume!"

Holy crap she pulled out her shikai!? A hole was blasted onto the wall in the building he was on almost knocking him over the edge so he was forced to shift backwards bumping into someone legs.

!?

Infra rolled away and pulled wind shields around himself.

"Relax Infra-san."

The hollow twitched and looked up into Aizen's smiling face. With his hair down and the glasses on it made him look sincere and kind. It was really fucking creepy.

"Aizen –san… how," he whispered.

"No need to worry. They cannot hear or see us," the man said tilting his chin in the direction of the drama unfolding. There was now a midget captain… He cautiously stood as the two lieutenants were dragged away. No one noticed.

"How?"

"This is the power of my Zanpakto."

"What power?"

Aizen smiled but instead asked, "Your report?"

"Oh uh! Right! Well I was with Ichigo earlier but we got separated when we were mobbed by the 11th division. I wasn't really at my best…" Infra nervously scratched his cheek. Aizen made a go on gesture with his hand. "Well Chad helped me and found a good place to sleep so I was out for the last couple hours. Um… While I was sleeping… I swear I felt a hollow's presence but when I woke it was gone. I also had this really bad feeling about Ichigo so I was heading over when her scream knocked me out of the sky."

"Ah yes. Hinamori's shriek is quite… unique," the man said trying to hide a wince.

Infra stared. Aizen had just… winced. History had just been made!

"Um, yeah. Anyway, I also pranked the entire Seireitei earlier-"

"So that was you." There was a slight smile on his lips while the glint of amusement sparkled in his eyes.

Infra grinned unrepentantly.

* * *

**AN:** I hope you liked it! Review please~!


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